The Day The Earth Stood Still
by MiaWaren
Summary: WARNING: Following fic contains heavy AOU spoilers. Clint Barton helps heartbroken Wanda.


Clint walked down the corridor leading to the mourge completely lost in his thoughts. He had seen many deaths of his colleagues and partners in his life, but this one stacked to him especially hard. He could still see Pietro's paling face, his last words were still ringing in his ears. The kid died to save him even though he owed him nothing. Maybe he started on the wrong side, but he was truly an Avenger.

And there was Wanda, his sweet little sister, now heartbroken and almost dead. Their relationship was like nothing else he had ever witnessed. It was beautiful when to think about it, all the more heartbreaking. Clint felt like needed explain this to her, apologize to her, help her… He completely missed Vision standing there in front of the door.

"I don't think your presence will help Miss Maximoff right now," the robotic voice warned him. "This can turn out to be dangerous for you, sir. I say you leave her be."

"And I say you get out of my way, pal," Clint growled and pushed the droid aside. He knew Wanda could end him with a blink of an eye, but he didn't care. He felt like he needed to be with her right now. He owed her this.

He felt like if someone kicked him in the stomach when she saw her sitting by her brother's dead body, pale, with red eyes, holding his hand and watching him like if he was only sleeping, praying for him to wake up. He knew it wasn't his fault, he couldn't possibly know that Pietro would whoosh to save him, but he still felt guilty. Especially when he looked at the younger woman, so lost in her just grief. He slowly approached her and without a word sat on the chair nearby.

After a few long minutes of silence Wanda finally spoke, her voice completely dead. "They told me he died defending you and some kid," she said, squeezing her brother's cold hand. Clint sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. Of course she was blaming him, how could she not? He was sure she prayed that he was dead instead of Pietro.

"Wanda…" he whispered, but she interrupted.

"They told me you took his body to the helicarrier and brought him back to me… Thank you…"

Clint look at her confused. She wasn't angry with him? How was this even possible? But it was probably even worse, seeing her so heartbroken, so completely drained. He wished he could find a way to take this pain away, but he knew it was simply impossible.

"If I was there none of this would've happened," she whispered, her chin trembling a bit. "If I let him stay with me in the Core, he'd still be alive."

"Don't blame yourself, Wanda. Of all people, it wasn't your fault." He got up and carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please… Come with me."

"No…" Wanda protested, choking on tears. "No, I won't leave him here alone. I can't…"

Clint went down on one knee and made her look at him, gently brushing tears off her cheek. "You've been here for six hours, Wanda. He wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

"And who can you know?!" Wanda yelled at him, but he didn't lose the soothing tone of his voice. He wanted to take her out of there, take care of her, soothe her, calm her… He owed him this.

"I know that Pietro loved you more than anything in this world and he wouldn't want to see you like this. He'd laugh at you and poke your nose. He wanted to protect you. He'd never want to see you so heartbroken. He'd kill anyone who would dare to try to bring tears to your face."

His words made her sob and tremble. She knew he was right. She wanted to hate Clint, she wanted to blame him, but she couldn't blame anyone but herself. If she was there with him, he'd save him. She would stop the bullets, she would do something… She would keep him alive. Why would he throw himself in front of Clint? Why did he have to play a hero? Why did he leave her alone? She slipped on her knees, trembling and crying, just to be immediately surrounded by Clint's strong arms.

"I wish you let me die there…" She clung to his chest even though this couldn't bring her comfort. She couldn't feel anything more than pain, guilt and loneliness anymore. He held her close, running his calloused fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head. He didn't say anything, he just let her cry. He knew she had to be exhausted. The moment her sobbing seemed to calm down a little, he picked her up bridal style and carried her outside. He passed Vision, not sparing him even a glance and carried her to his quarters in the tower. Wanda let him do that, completely drained from pain and loss, hiding her face in the gap of his neck as he walked. She didn't want to look anyone in the face. She especially didn't want to look at Vision, his robotic body bringing back the boiling anger that made her rip out Ultron's core.

Once in his quarters, Clint gently laid her on his bed and caressed her cheek. "Rest, please," he whispered having a concerned look in her eyes. Wanda looked at him and squeezed his hand, tears once again glistening in her eyes. She didn't have to say anything. Clint sat on the bed beside her and tugged her close, gently running his fingers through her hair until she passed out. When she was asleep, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"Now I will protect you. I promise."


End file.
